USCA1 Opinion
January 3, 1994
[NOT FOR PUBLICATION]
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT
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No. 93-1872
JOHN W. DEVORE,
AND VINNIE E. DEVORE,
Plaintiffs, Appellants,
v.
FEDERAL SAVINGS BANK OF DOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE,
Defendant, Appellee.
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APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MAINE
[Hon. Gene Carter, U.S. District Judge]
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Before
Breyer, Chief Judge,
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Selya and Cyr, Circuit Judges.
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John W. Devore and Vinnie E. Devore on brief pro se.
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Edward S. MacColl and Thompson, McNaboe, Ashley & Bull on brief
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for appellee.
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Per Curiam. Having reviewed the record and the parties'
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submissions, we find that the district court acted properly
in dismissing appellants' complaint for failure to state a
claim and in granting appellee's motion for summary judgment
on its counterclaim. The appellants' central claim--that
Federal Reserve Notes are not lawful currency and so cannot
be used as legal tender for private debts--is frivolous.1
We likewise find their subsidiary allegations to be without
merit, substantially for the reasons cited by the district
court.
The judgment is affirmed. Appellants' motion for stay
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and appellee's renewed motion for summary disposition are
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each denied as moot.
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1. See, e.g., Juilliard v. Greenman, 110 U.S. 421, 448
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(1884) ("Congress is authorized to establish a national
currency, either in coin or in paper, and to make that
currency lawful money for all purposes, as regards the
national government or private individuals"); Edgar v. Inland
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Steel Co., 744 F.2d 1276, 1278 n.4 (7th Cir. 1984) (per
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curiam) (rejecting argument that "federal reserve notes are
not money"); Foret v. Wilson, 725 F.2d 254, 254-55 (5th Cir.
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1984) (per curiam) (rejecting argument that "only gold and
silver coin may be constituted legal tender"); United States
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v. Ware, 608 F.2d 400, 402-04 (10th Cir. 1979); United States
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v. Anderson, 584 F.2d 369, 374 (10th Cir. 1978); United
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States v. Schmitz, 542 F.2d 782, 785 (9th Cir. 1976), cert.
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denied, 429 U.S. 1105 (1977); Milam v. United States, 524
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F.2d 629, 630 (9th Cir. 1974); see also Howe v. United
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States, 632 F. Supp. 700, 701 (D. Mass.), aff'd, 802 F.2d 440
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(1st Cir. 1986) (table), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 1066 (1987).
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